Systems and methods of providing communications services

ABSTRACT

An IP telephony system allows users of the IP telephony system to register extension telephony devices with the IP telephony system. An extension telephony device is one that is provided with service by a separate telephony service provider. Once an extension telephony device is registered, a user can obtain communications services from the IP telephony system using the extension telephony device. A extension telephony device may be tied to a user&#39;s main telephony services account with the IP telephony system such that when the user obtains communications services from the IP telephony system using an extension telephony device, the user will be billed for those communications services through the user&#39;s main account.

This application claims priority to the filing dates of ProvisionalApplication No. 61/512,265, filed Jul. 27, 2011, and ProvisionalApplication No. 61/529,742, filed Aug. 31, 2011, the contents of both ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is related to Internet protocol (IP) telephony systemsthat allow users to place and receive telephone calls, and to send andreceive text and video messages via data packets that are communicatedover a data network.

Presently, there are many IP telephony systems that provide telephonyservices to their users. Typically, a user will register with an IPtelephony system to obtain telephony services at their residence orbusiness. As part of the registration process, one or more of the user'stelephony devices in their home or business are registered with the IPtelephony system.

When the user wishes to place a call or send a text or video message,the user's telephony device contacts a server or a gateway maintained bythe IP telephony system over a public and/or private data network. Theserver or gateway then acts to provide the user with the requestedcommunications services.

IP telephony systems can provide the same types of communicationsservices as traditional telephony service providers that operate througha publically switched telephone network (PSTN), but at significantlylower costs. For this reason, many people have switched theirresidential and business telephony service provider from a traditionalPSTN-based telephony services provider to an IP telephony serviceprovider.

Many users also have a separate mobile or cellular telephone in additionto their residential and business telephones. Although it would bedesirable to utilize an IP telephony service provider to obtain certaintypes of communications services on mobile telephones, doing so is ofteninconvenient.

Generally, the only way to place international long distance telephonecalls through an IP telephony service provider using a mobile telephoneis to pre-pay for an IP telephony service that is separate and distinctfrom the carrier that provides the regular native telephony service tothe user's mobile telephone. Once the user has prepaid for a certainamount of minutes, in order to place a telephone call using the IPtelephony service, the user must engage in a cumbersome dialingprocedure. In order to use the IP telephony service, the user may needto remember a username or account number, as well as a PIN or password.

Thus, although it is possible to obtain lower cost IP telephony serviceson a mobile telephone, it is not convenient or quick to place callsthrough the service. Further, the user must engage in a separatefinancial transaction to obtain minutes of call time on the IP telephonyservice. Also, if the user has an account with an IP telephony servicethat is left with only a few minutes of talk time, the user may chooseto not use the remaining minutes, meaning some of the money spent toacquire minutes of talk time on the IP telephony system will be lost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communications environment including variouselements which are associated with an Internet protocol (IP) telephonysystem operating in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of various elements of a processor that forms partof a IP telephony system;

FIG. 3 is block diagram illustrating selected elements of an IPtelephony system that is capable of providing telephony services to atelephony device that is native to some other telephony system;

FIG. 4 is diagram illustrating steps of a method of providing telephonyservices to a telephone that is native to a first telephony system withelements of a second telephony system;

FIG. 5 is diagram illustrating steps of a method of assigning a localtelephone number within a first country that a user within the firstcountry can dial to be connected to a different telephone number in asecond country;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating steps of a method that would beperformed by software running on a smartphone or a computer that isacting as an extension telephony device to place a telephone call; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating steps of a method that would beperformed by an extension operations unit of an IP telephony sysem toconnect a smartphone or a computer acting as an extension telephonydevice to a called party.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description of preferred embodiments refers tothe accompanying drawings, which illustrate specific embodiments of theinvention. Other embodiments having different structures and operationsdo not depart from the scope of the present invention.

The technology is related to telephony systems generally. The technologyencompasses systems and methods of providing communications services toa user's telephony device that is native to a first telephony systemthrough a second, separate IP telephony system.

In the following description, the terms VOIP system, VOIP telephonysystem, IP system and IP telephony system are all intended to refer to asystem that connects callers and that delivers data, text and videocommunications using Internet protocol data communications.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a communications environment is provided tofacilitate IP enhanced communications. An IP telephony system 120enables connection of telephone calls between its own customers andother parties via data communications that pass over a data network. Thedata network is commonly the Internet 110, although the IP telephonysystem may also make use of private data networks. The IP telephonysystem 120 is connected to the Internet 110. In addition, the IPtelephony system 120 is connected to a first publicly switched telephonenetwork (PSTN) 130 via a gateway 122. The first PSTN 130 may also bedirectly coupled to the Internet 110 through one of its own internalgateways. Thus, communications may pass back and forth between the firstIP telephony system 120 and the PSTN 130 through the Internet 110 via agateway maintained within the PSTN 130.

The gateway 122 allows users and devices that are connected to the PSTN130 to connect with users and devices that are reachable through the IPtelephony system 120, and vice versa. In some instances, the gateway 122would be a part of the IP telephony system 120. In other instances, thegateway 122 could be maintained by a third party.

Customers of the IP telephony system 120 can place and receive telephonecalls using an IP telephone 108 that is connected to the Internet 110.Such an IP telephone 108 could be connected to an Internet serviceprovider via a wired connection or via a wireless router. In someinstances, the IP telephone 108 could utilize a cellular telephonesystem to access the Internet 110.

Alternatively, a customer could utilize a normal analog telephone 102 awhich is connected to the Internet 110 via a telephone adapter 104. Thetelephone adapter 104 converts analog signals from the telephone 102 ainto data signals that pass over the Internet 110, and vice versa. Also,as illustrated in FIG. 1, multiple analog telephone devices 102 a, 102 band 102 c could all be coupled to the same telephone adaptor 104. Analogtelephone devices include but are not limited to standard telephones anddocument imaging devices such as facsimile machines. A configurationusing a telephone adapter 104 is common where all of the analogtelephone devices 102 a, 102 b and 102 c are located in a residence orbusiness, and all of the telephone devices are connected to the sametelephone adapter. With this type of a configuration, all of the analogtelephone devices 102 a, 102 b, 102 c share the same telephone numberassigned to the telephone adaptor 104. Other configurations are alsopossible where multiple communication lines (e.g., a second telephonenumber) are provisioned by the IP telephony system 120.

In addition, a customer could utilize a soft-phone client running on acomputer 106 to place and receive IP based telephone calls, and toaccess other IP telephony systems (not shown). In some instances, thesoft-phone client could be assigned its own telephone number. In otherinstances, the soft-phone client could be associated with a telephonenumber that is also assigned to an IP telephone 108, or to a telephoneadaptor 104 that is connected one or more analog telephones 102.

A third party using an analog telephone 132 which is connected to thePSTN 130 may call a customer of the IP telephony system 120. In thisinstance, the call is initially connected from the analog telephone 132to the PSTN 130, and then from the PSTN 130, through the gateway 122 tothe IP telephony system 120. The IP telephony system 120 would thenroute the call to the customer's IP telephony device. A third partyusing a cellular telephone 134 could also place a call to an IPtelephony system customer, and the connection would be established in asimilar manner, although the first link would involve communicationsbetween the cellular telephone 134 and a cellular telephone network. Forpurposes of this explanation, the cellular telephone network isconsidered part of the PSTN 130.

In addition, mobile computing devices which include cellular telephonecapabilities could also be used to place telephone calls to customers ofthe IP telephony system. A mobile computing device 136, as illustratedin FIG. 1, might connect to the PSTN 130 using its cellular telephonecapabilities. However, such devices might also have the ability toconnect wirelessly via some other means. For instance, a mobilecomputing device 136 might communicate with a wireless data router toconnect the mobile computing device 136 directly to a data network, suchas the Internet 110. In this instance, communications between the mobilecomputing device 136 and other parties could be entirely carried by datacommunications which pass from the mobile computing device 136 directlyto a data network 110. Of course, alternate embodiments could utilizeany other form of wireless communications path to enable communications.

Users of the IP telephony system 120 are able to access the service fromvirtually any location where they can connect to the Internet 110. Thus,a customer could register with an IP telephony system provider in theU.S., and that customer could then use an IP telephone 108 located in acountry outside the U.S. to access the services. Likewise, the customercould also utilize a computer outside the U.S. that is running asoft-phone client to access the IP telephony system 120.

FIG. 1 also illustrates that a second IP telephony system 140 mayinteract with the first IP telephony system 120 via the Internet 110.For example, customers of the second IP telephony system 140 may placecalls to customers of the first IP telephony system 120. In thatinstance, assets of the second IP telephony system 140 interact withassets of the first IP telephony system 120 to setup and carry thetelephone call. The same basic thing could happen if customers of thefirst IP telephony system 120 place calls to customers of the second IPtelephony system 140.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a second PSTN 150 that is coupled to an analogtelephone 152 and a cellular telephone 154. The second PSTN 150 may alsobe directly coupled to the Internet 110 through one of its own internalgateways. Thus, communications may pass back and forth between the firstIP telephony system 120 and the second PSTN 150 through the Internet 110via a gateway maintained within the second PSTN 150. Calls fromcustomers of the first IP telephony system 120 may be routed to theanalog telephone 152 or the cellular telephone 154 through the secondPSTN 154.

For purposes of the following description, we will assume that the firstPSTN 130 is located in a first country, and that the second PSTN 140 islocated in a second country. Likewise, the analog telephone 132 andcellular telephone 134 coupled to the first PSTN 130 are located in thefirst country, whereas the analog telephone 152 and cellular telephone154 coupled to the second PSTN 150 are located in the second country.

Each time that a customer of the IP telephony system 120 places a callor receives a call through the IP telephony system 120, a call detailrecord (CDR) is established for the call. The CDRs include various itemsof information about the call. For instance, the information included ina CDR would typically include the telephone number of the calling party,the telephone number of the called party, the time the call wasestablished, the time the call ended, as well as various other items ofinformation relating to the elements of the IP telephony system thathandled the call.

Likewise, each time that a customer of the IP telephony system 120 sendsor receives a text message, such as a SMS message, a MMS message, avideo message and all other forms of communications, a record of thecommunication is created. The record can be stored along with therecords of telephone calls as another CDR, or the record could take someother format.

FIG. 2 illustrates elements of a computer processor 150 that can be usedas part of the IP telephony system 120 to accomplish various functions.The IP telephony system 120 could include multiple processors 150located at various locations in the system, along with their operatingcomponents and programming, each carrying out a specific or dedicatedportion of the functions performed by the VOIP based telephony service120.

The processor 150 shown in FIG. 2 may be one of any form of a generalpurpose computer processor used in accessing an IP-based network, suchas a corporate intranet, the Internet or the like. The processor 150comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 152, a memory 154, and supportcircuits 156 for the CPU 152. The processor 150 also includes provisions158/160 for connecting the processor 150 to customer equipment and toservice provider agent equipment, as well as possibly one or moreinput/output devices (not shown) for accessing the processor and/orperforming ancillary or administrative functions related thereto. Theprovisions 158/160 are shown as separate bus structures in FIG. 2;however, they may alternately be a single bus structure withoutdegrading or otherwise changing the intended operability of theprocessor 150.

The memory 154 is coupled to the CPU 152. The memory 154, orcomputer-readable medium, may be one or more of readily available memorysuch as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), floppy disk,hard disk, flash memory or any other form of digital storage, local orremote, and is preferably of non-volatile nature. The support circuits156 are coupled to the CPU 152 for supporting the processor in aconventional manner. These circuits include cache, power supplies, clockcircuits, input/output circuitry and subsystems, and the like.

A software routine 162, when executed by the CPU 152, causes theprocessor 150 to perform processes of the disclosed embodiments, and isgenerally stored in the memory 154. The software routine 162 may also bestored and/or executed by a second CPU (not shown) that is remotelylocated from the hardware being controlled by the CPU 152. Also, thesoftware routines could also be stored remotely from the CPU. Forexample, the software could be resident on servers and memory devicesthat are located remotely from the CPU, but which are accessible to theCPU via a data network connection.

The software routine 162, when executed by the CPU 152, transforms thegeneral purpose computer into a specific purpose computer that performsone or more functions of the IP telephony system 120. Although theprocesses of the disclosed embodiments may be discussed as beingimplemented as a software routine, some of the method steps that aredisclosed therein may be performed in hardware as well as by a processorrunning software. As such, the embodiments may be implemented insoftware as executed upon a computer system, in hardware as anapplication specific integrated circuit or other type of hardwareimplementation, or a combination of software and hardware. The softwareroutine 162 of the disclosed embodiments is capable of being executed onany computer operating system, and is capable of being performed usingany CPU architecture.

In the following description, references will be made to an “IPtelephony device.” This term is used to refer to any type of devicewhich is capable of interacting with an IP telephony system to completea telephone call. An IP telephony device could be an IP telephone, acomputer running IP telephony software, a telephone adapter which isitself connected to a normal analog telephone, or some other type ofdevice capable of communicating via data packets. An IP telephony devicecould also be a cellular telephone or a portable computing device thatruns a software client that enables the device to act as an IPtelephone. Thus, a single device might be capable of operating as both acellular telephone and an IP telephone.

Moreover, certain devices that are not traditionally used as telephonydevices may act as telephony devices once they are configured withappropriate client software. Thus, some devices that would not normallybe considered telephony devices may become telephony devices or IPtelephony devices once they are running appropriate software.

The following description will also refer to telephony communicationsand telephony activity. These terms are intended to encompass all typesof telephone calls, regardless of whether all or a portion of the callsare carried in an analog or digital format. These terms are alsointended to encompass data communications that are conveyed through aPSTN or VOIP telephony system, such as facsimile transmissions, textmessages, SMS messages, MMS messages, video messages, and all othertypes of data communications sent by or received by a user. In otherwords, these terms are intended to encompass any communicationswhatsoever, in any format, which traverse all or a portion of acommunications network or telephony network.

FIG. 3 illustrates elements of an IP telephony system 120. The IPtelephony system 120 includes a CDR database 220 which stores records ofall the incoming communications sent to each of the users of the IPtelephony system 120, as well as all outgoing communications sent by theusers. The CDR database 220 includes a record of telephone calls andother types of incoming and outgoing communications, such as textmessages, SMS messages, MMS messages, video messages, and other forms ofcommunications.

The IP telephony system 120 also includes a call routing engine 230. Thecall routing engine 230 provides instructions to servers of thetelephony system 120 to help the servers establish communicationschannels between a calling party and a called party. The call routingengine 230 also helps servers to deliver text messages, SMS messages,MMS messages and other forms of communications.

The IP telephony system 120 further includes a billing system 240. Thebilling system 240 uses information drawn from the CDR database 220, andpossibly other sources, to determine how much to bill the users of theIP telephony system 120.

The IP telephony system 120 also includes a partner provider interfacemodule 250. This module communicates various items of information withpartner providers who help to complete telephone calls for the IPtelephony system in various locations throughout the world. The samepartner providers may deliver incoming calls directed to users of the IPtelephony system 120. In some instances, the partner providers may feedinformation about calls to the IP telephony system 120 via the partnerprovider interface module 250. This information could be used by the IPtelephony system 120 to create CDRs for user calls.

The IP telephony system 120 provides communications services to itsregistered users through telephony devices that the users haveregistered with the IP telephony system. For example, and with referenceto FIG. 1, assume that a first user who has established an account withthe IP telephony system has registered the telephone adaptor 104 withthe IP telephony system 120. The IP telephony system 120 will haveassigned a first telephone number to the first user's account, and callsto that telephone number will be routed to the telephone adaptor 104.

Likewise, assume that a second user who has an account with the IPtelephony system 120 has registered the IP telephone 108 with the IPtelephony system 120. The IP telephony system 120 will have assigned asecond telephone number to the second user's account, and calls to thatnumber will be routed to the IP telephone 108.

In the following description, and the appended claims, the IP telephonysystem 120 may be referred to as a telephony system that provideslandline type telephony services. This description is intended todistinguish the IP telephony system from a traditional cellulartelephone services provider. However, this does not mean that the IPtelephony system is incapable of providing telephony services to amobile or cellular telephone. In fact, quite the opposite is true, aswill be explained below.

Next, assume that the first user also possesses the cellular telephone134. The cellular telephone 134 is registered with a separate, firstcellular telephone services provider. Also, assume that the second userpossesses the mobile computing device with a cellular telephone 136. Themobile computing device with a cellular telephone 136 is registered witha separate cellular telephone services provider.

An IP telephony system 120 as illustrated in FIG. 3 is capable ofproviding communications services to a user through both the IPtelephony device(s) the user has registered with the IP telephony system120, and through a telephony device that is registered with and obtainstelephony service from a separate telephony services provider. Thus, forexample, the first user could obtain telephony services from the IPtelephony system 120 using the first user's cellular telephone 132 thatis registered with a first cellular telephone services provider.Likewise, the second user could obtain telephony services from the IPtelephony system 120 using the mobile computing device 136 that isregistered with a second cellular telephone services provider. Further,the IP telephony system 120 will bill the first and second users fortelephone calls made using the cellular telephone 134 and mobilecomputing device 136 as part of their regular monthly bills from the IPtelephony system 120.

The IP telephony system 120 allows a user to register additionaltelephony devices that can act as extensions of the user's main IPtelephony device(s). Thus, the first user can register his cellulartelephone 134 as an extension telephony device. While incoming telephonecalls directed to the first user's assigned telephone number willcontinue to be routed to the telephone adaptor 104, the first user canplace outgoing telephone calls through the IP telephony system using hiscellular telephone 134, even though the first user's cellular telephoneis provided with cellular telephone service by a separate cellulartelephony services provider. This allows the first user to takeadvantage of the relatively low rates for long distance andinternational long distance calls that are offered by the IP telephonysystem 120. Those rates will typically be significantly lower than therates the first user would be charged by the cellular telephony servicesprovider. In addition, charges for calls made from the first user'scellular telephone 134 that are routed through the IP telephony system120 will simply appear on the first user's regular monthly IP telephonysystem bill.

Likewise, the IP telephony system 120 allows the second user to registerhis mobile computing device 136 as an extension telephony device. Whileincoming telephone calls directed to the second user's assignedtelephone number will continue to be routed to the second user's IPtelephone 108, the second user can place outgoing telephone calls thoughthe IP telephony system 120 using his mobile computing device 136, eventhough the second user's mobile computing device 136 is provided withcellular telephone service by a separate cellular telephony servicesprovider.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the IP telephony system 120 includes anextensions operating unit 202. The extensions operating unit 202 handlesthe registration of extension telephony devices, the setup andconfiguration of dialing aids, and the provision of telephony servicesto extension telephony devices.

An authorization unit 204 handles the registration of telephony devicesas extensions of a user's basic IP telephony service. When a user wishesto register a telephony device as an extension telephony device, theactual registration process could be handled in multiple different ways.In some instances, a user could utilize a website interface to registera telephony device that is native to another telephony service provideras an extension telephony device. In other instances, the user couldcall a special access number maintained by the IP telephony system 120.This would connect the user to an interactive voice response system thatwould allow the user to register the extension telephony device. Inother instances, a user could call and speak to a customer servicerepresentative that would assist with the registration of the extensiontelephony device.

It still other instances, such as where the extension telephony deviceis a mobile computing device, the user downloads an application onto themobile telephony device, and the application handles the registration ofthe mobile computing device as an extension telephony device. Theapplication might also be used as the interface that allows the user toplace telephone calls through the IP telephony system 120.

Regardless of how it is accomplished, during the registration processthe IP telephony system 120 obtains a telephone number or some otherunique identifier associated with the extension telephony device. Inaddition, the authorization unit 204 may assign a unique personalidentification number (PIN) to the extension telephony device. The usermay be asked for the PIN when the user requests services through the IPtelephony system 120. In other instances, the same PIN associated withthe user's main account with the IP telephony system 120 might be usedto authorize the provision of communications services to the userthrough the extension telephony device.

With reference to the communications environment illustrated in FIG. 1,the first user, whose primary IP telephony device is the telephoneadaptor 104, would register his cellular telephone 134 as an extensiontelephony device. During the registration process, the authorizationunit 204 obtains the telephone number associated with the cellulartelephone 134. The authorization unit may also assign a PIN number thatthe user can provide when requesting communications services from the IPtelephony system 120 through the cellular telephone 134.

Likewise, the second user would register his mobile computing device 136as an extension telephony device. During the registration process, theauthorization unit 204 could obtain a telephone number associated withthe mobile computing device 136, or a unique identification numberassigned to the mobile computing device 136, or both. Here again, theauthorization unit 204 may assign a PIN number to the mobile computingdevice 136 that the second user would provide to obtain communicationsservices from the IP telephony system 120 through the mobile computingdevice 136.

The IP telephony system 120 may allow a user to register one or apredetermined number of extension telephony devices without charge. Anycalls placed from the extension telephony device(s) would then incur thesame charges as calls made from the user's primary IP telephony device.If the user places a call with an extension device to a telephone numberthat is part of an unlimited calling plan, no additional charges wouldapply. If a call is placed with an extension telephony device to atelephone number that would incur a per minute charge, the same rateapplies to calls made from the extension telephony device that wouldapply to calls made from the user's primary IP telephony device.

If the user wants to register additional extension telephony devicesbeyond the number that can be registered for free, the IP telephonysystem 120 may charge the user a monthly reoccurring charge for eachadditional extension device. Paying the monthly reoccurring charge wouldthen entitle the user to obtain communications services through theextension telephony device at the same rates the user would be chargedfor communications services provided to the user through his primary IPtelephony device. Alternatively, the user may be provided with theoption of registering additional extension telephony devices without theneed to pay a monthly reoccurring charges if the user instead pays perminute fees for calls placed from the additional extension telephonydevices.

Also, the IP telephony system 120 could offer the user different pricingoptions for communications services provided to the user through anextension telephony device than for communications services provided tothe user through the user's primary IP telephony device. Regardless, theuser would continue to receive one monthly bill for charges incurred forcommunications services provided to the user through the user's primaryIP telephony device and through the user's extension telephony devices.

The IP telephony system 120 could also allow a master account holder tospecify a maximum allowable monthly spending limit for each extensiontelephony device. The master user could set and change those spendinglimits by interacting with the authorization unit 204 via a web portal,through an interactive voice response system, or using an applicationloaded on a mobile computing device. Alternatively, the master usercould speak with a customer service representative to have the maximumspending limits set or changed.

When a user wishes to place a call from an extension telephony device,the user would place a call to a local access telephone number or to atoll free access number. The basic process is illustrated in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 4, the method would begin when a user utilizes anextension telephony device to place a call to a local access number orto a toll free access number. This call would be made using theextension telephony device's native telephony service provider. In someinstances, such as where the extension telephony device is a mobilecomputing device running an application, the call could be placedentirely through a data network. In step S402, the call would bereceived by the extension connection unit 202 of the extensionoperations unit 200 of the IP telephony system 120 illustrated in FIG.3.

The extension connection unit 202 obtains the telephone number of theextension telephony device through the caller ID information provided aspart of the incoming call. Alternatively, the call may be placed to theaccess telephone number from a mobile computing device that is runningan application provided by the IP telephony system 120. Such a callcould be established by the application between the mobile computingdevice and the extension connection unit 202 entirely over a datanetwork, such as the Internet. In that instance, the application maysend a unique identifier assigned to the user's mobile computing device,instead of a telephone number. Regardless, the telephone number orunique identification number associated with the extension telephonydevice will be recognized because the user will have already registeredthe extension telephony device.

In step S404, the extension connection unit 202 asks the user to providea PIN that is associated with the extension telephony device, or withthe user's main account with the IP telephony system. This informationcould be provided to the extension connection unit in multiple differentways. It could be provided by the user pressing buttons on a keypad ofthe extension telephony device. Alternatively, the user might speak theinformation. In other instances, such as where an application is runningon a mobile computing device, a query could be sent to an applicationrunning on the device, and the application could automatically providethe PIN information without further user intervention. Regardless, theextension connection unit 202 would acquire the information, and/orinterpret any spoken responses using speech recognition assets.

In step S406, the extension connection unit 202 verifies that thecalling party is authorized to place a call through the IP telephonysystem 120 using the extension telephony device. This would likelyinclude interacting with the authorization unit 204 to verify that theobtained telephone number/unique identification number of the extensiontelephony device and the obtained PIN information match the informationstored in the authorization unit 204.

Assuming the obtained information is verified, and the user isauthorized to place a call through the IP telephony system 120 with theextension telephony device, in step S408 the extension connection unit202 obtains the telephone number the user would like to call. This couldoccur in multiple different ways.

In a simple embodiment, the extension connection unit 202 prompts theuser for the telephone number, and the user enters the telephone numberusing a keypad of the extension telephony device. The user might alsospeak the number, and the extension connection unit 202 would utilizespeech recognition assets to interpret the user's spoken response.

In other instances, the user might be able to access a speed dial systemthat has been created for the user's main account with the IP telephonysystem 120, or which has been specifically created for the extensiontelephony device. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates that an extensionspeed dial unit 205 may be a part of the extension operations unit 200of the IP telephony system 120.

A user could configure the extensions speed dial unit 205 so thatmultiple pre-stored telephone numbers correspond to predeterminednumbered options for each extension telephony device. When a user callsa local access number with an extension telephony device, the extensionconnection unit 202 will determine the identity of the extensiontelephony device. The user could make a telephone number selection fromthe predetermined list maintained for that extension telephony device inthe extension speed dial unit 205.

In more complex embodiments, the access number that was originallydialed by the user may be tied to a particular destination telephonenumber. If that is the case, then simply by virtue of the access numberdialed by the user, the extension connection unit 202 will know whattelephone number the user is attempting to reach. This concept isdiscussed in more detail below.

If the user is reaching the extension connection unit 202 from a mobilecomputing device that is running an application provided by the IPtelephony system 120, the application may allow the user to easilyselect a telephone number from a contact list maintained on the mobilecomputing device. The application would then forward the telephonenumber on to the extension connection unit 202.

Once the extension connection unit 202 has obtained the telephone numberthe user wishes to reach, in step S410 the extension connection unit 202will cause a telephone call to be setup to the desired telephone numberusing normal IP telephony system assets, as is well known to those ofordinary skill in the art. However, the telephone call will beestablished such that the called party telephony device will receivecaller ID information identifying the extension telephony device. Inother words, the called party will see the regular telephone number ofthe extension telephony device, and any associated name, as part of thecaller ID information for the incoming call.

The IP telephony system 120 will create a CDR for the call, and the CDRwill be updated, finalized and stored at the completion of the call. TheCDR will later be used to bill the user for the call placed through theextension telephony device. For this reason, the CDR may include a fieldthat indicates that the call was placed through a particular registeredextension telephony device.

Once the call has been setup by the IP telephony system in step S410,the server that originally establishes the call may conduct an optionalcall transfer in step S412. The call transfer would allow the callsignaling to proceed more directly between the extension telephonydevice and the called telephony device. When a call transfer isconducted, it would free up assets of the IP telephony system 120 forother uses.

As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the IP telephony system 120 canassign a local access number for a user to correspond to a number thatthe user frequently calls from his extension telephony device. Forpurposes of explanation, and with reference to FIG. 1, assume that thefirst user frequently uses his cellular telephone 134 to call hismother, who has analog telephone 152 in a different country. The firstuser has already registered his cellular telephone 134 as an extensiontelephony device with the IP telephony system 120. The first user canrequest that the IP telephony system assign a local access number tocorrespond to the telephone number assigned to his mother's analogtelephone 152. Steps of a method to accomplish this assignment areillustrated in FIG. 5.

The method begins when the first user requests that a local accessnumber be assigned to his mother's telephone number. This request wouldbe received by the local to international telephone number assignmentunit 206 of the extensions operation unit 200 of the IP telephony system120, as shown in FIG. 3. The first user could interact with the local tointernational telephone number assignment unit 206 in multiple differentways. The first user could utilize a web interface, an interactive voiceresponse system available through an access number, or the first usercould speak with a customer service representative. If the first user'sextension telephony device is a mobile computing device, an applicationrunning on the mobile computing device could also be used to interactwith the local to international telephone number assignment unit 206.

In step S502, the local to international telephone number assignmentunit 206 receives the request from the first user. In step S504, thelocal to international telephone number assignment unit 206 obtains thetelephone number the first user wishes to be assigned, which in thiscase is the telephone number of his mother's analog telephone 152. Thelocal to international telephone number assignment unit 206 also obtainsthe identity of the party at that telephone number, in this case, thefirst user's mother. In step S506, the local to international telephonenumber assignment unit 206 assigns a local access number that the firstuser can call to be connected to his mother's analog telephone 152. Thisnumber is ideally one that the first user can call from his extensiontelephony device without incurring any long distance or toll charges.

In step S508, the local to international telephone number assignmentunit 206 initiates an outbound call to the first user's extensiontelephony device. The call will indicate that it has originated from theassigned local access number, and it will indicate that the call is fromthe first user's mother. When this information is captured by the firstuser's extension telephony device, it is easy for the first user tostore this information in a contact list on the first user's extensiontelephony device. Thus, the local access number is communicated to thefirst user in an easy and convenient manner. In step S510, the outboundcall is then terminated.

Once this process has been conduced, the first user can simply call theassigned local access number. When the call is received by the extensionconnection unit 202, the extension connection unit will know both thelocal access number that was called, and the telephone number or IDnumber of the first user's extension telephony device. This will allowthe extension connection unit to determine the number that the firstuser wishes to call. The extension connection unit may then ask thefirst user for the PIN number assigned to the first user's extensiontelephony device to ensure that the user's is authorized to make thecall through the IP telephony system. As soon as the user provides thePIN, the call would be connected. In some embodiments, obtaining the PINmay not occur.

As mentioned above, in some instances a user could place a call from anextension telephony device that is a smartphone or a computer or aportable computing device running appropriate software. In theseinstances, some or all of the communications required to inform theextension operation unit 200 of the called party's telephone number, theuser's account information and a PIN number can be automated by thesoftware. The software might also make it easier for the user to inputor select a telephone number of the party the user is attempting toreach.

FIG. 6 illustrates steps of a method that would be performed by anapplication on a smartphone or software on a computer in order to placea call while the smartphone or computer is acting as an extensiontelephony device.

FIG. 7 illustrates steps of a method that would be performed by theextensions operation unit 202 of an IP telephony system 120 to connectsuch an extension telephony device to a called party. In the followingdescription, we will assume that the user is placing a call from asmartphone that is registered as an extension telephony device under auser's main account with an IP telephony system. However, the same basicsteps would be performed if the user was placing a call from a computeror a portable computing device that is acting as an extension telephonydevice.

The method begins when a user decides to place a call using a smartphoneas an extension telephony device. The user loads and runs an applicationon the smartphone that automates many of the steps the user wouldotherwise have to perform under the methods described above. In stepS602, the application receives an indication from the user as to who theuser wishes to call. This could be accomplished in many different ways.The user could simply type in the number the user wishes to call on akeypad of the smartphone. Alternatively, the application could cause akeypad to be displayed on a touch sensitive display screen on thesmartphone, and the user could enter the telephone number using thedisplayed keypad. In still other instances, the application couldpresent the user with a list of contacts, and the user could select oneof the contacts from the list. In this instance, the contact list couldbe a contact list that is stored on the smartphone through anotherseparate application, or a contact list that has been input andmaintained on the smartphone using the application that has been run bythe user to place a call using the smartphone as an extension telephonydevice. The actual data that constitutes the contact list could bestored on the smartphone itself, or it could be stored on a remoteserver that the smartphone is able access via a data connection.

Once the application has obtained the telephone number of the calledparty, in step S604, the application establishes a data link with theextension connection unit 202 of the extension operations unit 200 ofthe IP telephony system 120, as illustrated in FIG. 3. This data linkcould be established using a cellular data channel or via a wireless orwired link to a public or private data network, such as the Internet.Regardless of how the data link is established, the data link will allowthe application on the user's smartphone to communicate with a serverthat is part of the extension connection unit 202.

In step S606, the application will inform the extension connection unit202 of the called party's telephone number. The application may alsoprovide the extension connection unit 202 with the telephone number ofthe user's smartphone, or a special identification number assigned tothe user's smartphone or to the application running on the user'ssmartphone. This information will allow the extension connection unit toidentify the user's smartphone as a registered extension telephonydevice.

The application may also automatically provide the extension connectionunit 202 with a PIN number that was assigned to the user or to theuser's smartphone or to the application loaded on the smartphone. ThePIN number is used to verify the identity of the user or the smartphonefor purposes of fraud prevention. In alternate embodiments, theapplication may require the user to enter or speak the PIN number, whichwould be another way of preventing an unauthorized user from placing atelephone call using someone else's smartphone.

In step S608, the application obtains a telephone number from theextension connection unit 202. Then, in step S610, the applicationcauses the smartphone to call the telephone number it received from theextension connection unit 202. As will be explained in greater detailbelow, the user would then be connected to the called party.

Although the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 ultimately connects theuser to the called party through a telephone call placed to thetelephone number obtained from the extension connection unit 202, inalternate embodiments, the user may be connected to the called party insome other fashion. For example, the data link established between theuser's smartphone and the extension connection unit 202 could be used toestablish a VOIP call to the called party. In other instances, theapplication on the user's smartphone may establish a VOIP call to thecalled party in some other fashion, with the assistance of the extensionconnection unit 202.

FIG. 7 illustrates steps of a method performed by the extensionoperations unit 200 of the IP telephony system 120 to connect asmartphone running an application and acting as an extension telephonydevice to a called party. The method begins in step S702, when theextension connection unit 202 receives a communication from theapplication on the user's smartphone indicating that the application isattempting to place a call to a called party. In step S702, theextension connection unit 202 establishes a data link with theapplication on the smartphone. As noted above, this data link could beestablished in multiple different ways.

In step S704, the extension connection unit 202 receives several piecesof information from the application on the user's smartphone. First, theextension connection unit 202 receives either the telephone number ofthe user's smartphone or an identification number that was assigned tothe user's smartphone or to the application running on the user'ssmartphone. This information is used to verify the identity of the userand to verify that the smartphone is a registered extension telephonydevice. The telephone number of the user's smartphone may also be usedfor caller ID purposes when the call is placed to the called party.

The extension connection unit 202 also receives the telephone number ofthe called party that the user is attempting to reach. The extensionconnection unit 202 may also automatically receive a PIN number from theapplication on the user's smartphone. Alternatively, the application mayrequest that the user input a PIN number, and that information may thenbe provided to the extension connection unit 202. In still otherembodiments, the extension connection unit 202 may send a query to theuser, via the application on the user's smartphone, asking the user toinput a PIN number. In some embodiments, the user may have the option ofspeaking the PIN number. In those embodiments, the application on thesmartphone may interpret this spoken response, or the extensionconnection unit 202 may receive the audio of the spoken response, andthe extension connection unit 202 may be responsible for interpretingthe spoken response.

In step S706, the extension connection unit 202 verifies that the useris authorized to place the requested call. This would likely includeinteracting with the authorization unit 204 to verify that the obtainedtelephone number/unique identification number of the smartphone and theobtained PIN information match the information stored in theauthorization unit 204.

If the user is authorized to place the requested call, in step S708, theextension connection unit 202 provides the application on the user'ssmartphone with a telephone number that the smartphone can call to beconnected to the called party. At this point, the application on theuser's smartphone will place a call to the telephone number obtainedfrom the extension connection unit 202, as described above in connectionwith FIG. 6.

In step S710, the extension connection unit 202 receives the incomingcall from the user's smartphone. The extension connection unit 202recognizes the user's smartphone through caller ID information, and theextension connection unit will already know, from the previousinformation exchange with the application on the smartphone, whattelephone number the user is attempting to call. In step S712, theextension connection unit 202 places an outgoing call to the calledparty, and in step S714, the extension connection unit 202 bridges theincoming and outgoing calls so that the user's smartphone is connectedto the called party.

In some embodiments, the extension connection unit 202 waits to receivethe incoming call from the user's smartphone before placing the outgoingcall to the called party. In other instances, the extension connectionunit begins to setup the outgoing call after it receives the calledparty's telephone number from the application on the user's smartphoneand before it receives the incoming call from the user's smartphone.This would result in a faster connection for the user.

As noted above, in alternate embodiments, the user's smartphone may beconnected to the called party in a different fashion. For example,because the extension connection unit 202 receives all required relevantinformation from the application on the user's smartphone via theinitial data connection, the extension connection unit 202 may setup aVOIP call to the called party, and that call may be bridged to theuser's smartphone using the same data connection that was used toreceive information from the application on the user's smartphone. Thiswould eliminate the need for the application to place a separate call tothe telephone number provided by the extension connection unit 202.

The application on a user's smartphone, or software running on acomputer or portable computing device, may provide additionalfunctionality beyond merely allowing the user to place a call. Forexample, the software may also allow a user to perform a rate lookup todetermine how much it will cost to place a particular call. Theapplication may also allow a user to access his account information withthe IP telephony system, and also edit or update that information. Theapplication may also allow a user to place a text message to particulartelephone number using the smartphone or computer as an extensiontelephony device.

In the examples given above, it was assumed that the user would alreadyhave an existing account with the IP telephony system, and that the userwould have already registered a primary IP telephony device with the IPtelephony system. In alternate embodiments, it is not necessary for auser to have a separate primary IP telephony device. Instead, a userwould setup a new account with the IP telephony system with theintention of only registering a telephony device that is alreadyregistered with and provided service by a separate telephony serviceprovider. This would allow the user to place calls from the telephonydevice using the native telephony service provider, or through the IPtelephony system. In many instances, the IP telephony system may be ableto provide the user with communications services at lower rates than thenative telephony service provider would charge.

Also, in the examples given above, the user places a telephone callusing an extension telephony device. However, the same basic procedureswould be used if a user wishes to obtain other types of communicationsservices from the IP telephony system via an extension telephony device.For example, the user could send SMS text messages, MMS messages andother forms of communications through the IP telephony system from anextension telephony device.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

While the invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment,it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedisclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

1. A method of providing communications services, comprising: receivinga request for communications services from a first telephony device thatis native to a first telephony system that provides cellular basedtelephony services, the request being received at a second telephonysystem that provides landline type telephony services; determiningwhether the first telephony device is associated with the secondtelephony system based on settings of an existing account with thesecond telephony system wherein the determining step includes: obtainingan identifier associated with the first telephony device, wherein theidentifier is obtained from a software application running on the firsttelephony device, and using the identifier to determine whether thefirst telephony device is associated with an existing account within thesecond telephony system; and providing the requested communicationsservices based on the result of the determining step.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the determining step further comprises: obtaining anauthorization code from a user of the first telephony device; anddetermining whether the authorization code matches an approvedauthorization code that is associated with the existing account withinthe second telephony system.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining step further comprises: obtaining an authorization code froma user of the first telephony device; and determining whether theauthorization code matches an approved authorization code that isassociated with the obtained identifier.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the providing step comprises setting up a telephone call betweenthe first telephony device and a second telephony device, and whereinthe second telephony device is provided with an identifier associatedwith the first telephony device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theproviding step comprises delivering a communication from the firsttelephony device to a second telephony device, and wherein thecommunication includes an identifier associated with the first telephonydevice.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprisesanswering a telephone call initiated by a user of the first telephonydevice that is directed to a telephone number maintained by the secondtelephony system.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving stepcomprises answering a telephone call initiated by a user of the firsttelephony device that is directed to a first telephone number maintainedby the second telephony system and that is local to the first user, andwherein the providing step comprises setting up a telephone call betweenthe first telephony device and a second telephony device that isassigned to a second telephone number that is not local to the user butwhich is correlated to the first telephone number by the secondtelephony system.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofobtaining an identifier associated with the first telephony devicecomprises obtaining a unique identification number associated with thefirst telephony device or with the software application running on thefirst telephony device.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprisingreceiving a personal identification number associated with the firsttelephony device or with the existing account with the second telephonysystem, and wherein the unique identification number and the personalidentification number are used together to determine if the firsttelephony device is associated with an existing account within thesecond telephony system.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the uniqueidentification number and the personal identification number are bothreceived from the software application running on the first telephonydevice.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step comprisesreceiving identifying information that identifies at least one of aparty and a second telephony device to which a user of the firsttelephony device would like to send a communication, and wherein theidentifying information is obtained from a software application runningon the first telephony device.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein theidentifying information is a telephone number of the second telephonydevice.
 13. A system for providing communications services, comprising:means for receiving a request for communications services from a firsttelephony device that is native to a first telephony system thatprovides cellular based telephony services, wherein the receiving meansis part of a second telephony system that provides landline typetelephony services; means for determining whether the first telephonydevice is associated with the second telephony system based on settingsof an existing account with the second telephony system, wherein thedetermining means obtains an identifier associated with the firsttelephony device from a software application running on the firsttelephony device, and wherein the determining means uses the identifierto determine whether the first telephony device is associated with anexisting account within the second telephony system; and means forproviding the requested communications services based on the result ofthe determining step.
 14. A system for providing communicationsservices, comprising: an extension connection unit that receives arequest for communications services from a first telephony device thatis native to a first telephony system that provides cellular basedtelephony services, wherein the extension connection unit is part of asecond telephony system that provides landline type telephony services;an authorization unit that determines whether the first telephony deviceis associated with the second telephony system based on settings of anexisting account with the second telephony system, wherein theauthorizing unit obtains an identifier associated with the firsttelephony device from a software application running on the firsttelephony device, and wherein the authorization unit uses the identifierto determine whether the first telephony device is associated with anexisting account within the second telephony system; and wherein theextension connection unit causes the requested communications servicesto be provided to the first telephony device through the secondtelephony system if the authorization unit determines that the firsttelephony device is associated with the second telephony system.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the authorization unit obtains anauthorization code from a user of the first telephony device anddetermines whether the authorization code matches an approvedauthorization code that is associated with the existing account withinthe second telephony system.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein theauthorization unit obtains an authorization code from a user of thefirst telephony device and determines whether the authorization codematches an approved authorization code that is associated with theobtained identifier.
 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the extensionconnection unit causes a telephone call to be setup between the firsttelephony device and a second telephony device, and wherein the secondtelephony device is provided with an identifier associated with thefirst telephony device.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein theextension connection unit causes a communication to be delivered fromthe first telephony device to a second telephony device, and wherein thecommunication includes an identifier associated with the first telephonydevice.
 19. The system of claim 14, wherein the extension connectionunit answers a telephone call initiated by a user of the first telephonydevice that is directed to a telephone number maintained by the secondtelephony system.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the extensionconnection unit obtains an authorization code from the user of the firsttelephony device and obtains an identifier associated with a secondtelephony device to which the user of the first telephony device wouldlike to send a communication.
 21. The system of claim 14, wherein theextension connection unit answers a telephone call initiated by a userof the first telephony device that is directed to a first telephonenumber maintained by the second telephony system and that is local tothe first user, and wherein the extension connection unit sets up atelephone call between the first telephony device and a second telephonydevice that is assigned to a second telephone number that is not localto the user but which is correlated to the first telephone number by thesecond telephony system.
 22. The system of claim 14, wherein the secondtelephony system is an IP telephony system, wherein a proxy server ofthe IP telephony system receives the request for communications servicesfrom the first telephony device, wherein the extension connection unitcauses a voice over Internet protocol telephone call to be setup betweenthe first telephony device and a second telephony device through theproxy server, and wherein the extension connection unit causes a calltransfer operation to be conducted so that the telephone call is nolonger routed through the proxy server.
 23. The system of claim 14,wherein the identifier associated with the first telephony deviceobtained by the authorization unit comprises a unique identificationnumber associated with the first telephony device or with the softwareapplication running on the first telephony device.
 24. The system ofclaim 23, wherein the authorization unit also obtains a personalidentification number associated with the first telephony device or withthe existing account with the second telephony system, and wherein theunique identification number and the personal identification number areused together to determine if the first telephony device is associatedwith an existing account within the second telephony system.
 25. Thesystem of claim 24, wherein the unique identification number and thepersonal identification number are both obtained by the authorizationunit from the software application running on the first telephonydevice.
 26. The system of claim 14, wherein the authorization unitobtains identifying information that identifies at least one of a partyand a second telephony device to which a user of the first telephonydevice would like to send a communication, and wherein the identifyinginformation is obtained from a software application running on the firsttelephony device.
 27. The system of claim 26, wherein the identifyinginformation is a telephone number of the second telephony device.
 28. Amethod of providing communications services, comprising: receiving arequest for communications services from a first telephony device thatis native to a first telephony system that provides cellular basedtelephony services, the request being received at a second telephonysystem that provides landline type telephony services; determiningwhether the first telephony device is associated with the secondtelephony system based on settings of an existing account with thesecond telephony system; and providing the requested communicationsservices based on the result of the determining step, wherein theproviding step comprises sending a communication to a second telephonydevice, and wherein the communication includes an identifier associatedwith the first telephony device.
 29. The method of claim 28, whereinproviding the requested communications services comprises setting up atelephone call between the first telephony device and the secondtelephony device, and wherein during call setup, caller ID informationis provided to the second telephony device, the caller ID informationincluding a telephone number of the first telephony device.
 30. Themethod of claim 28, wherein providing the requested communicationsservices comprises sending a SMS or MMS message to the second telephonydevice, and wherein the SMS or MMS message indicates that it originatesfrom a telephone number of the first telephony device.